Not competitive

purpleshoes_2

If Id applied the there's no point turning up if I wasnt going to be the best I can be Id have ditched sport a very long time ago. I absolutely hated sport at school. I didn't excel at it by a long way. I hated the competitive element of it and I wasn't naturally sporty.

I got into sport a long time after I left school because I actually found classes that I liked, enjoyed and that led me to becoming a fitness instructor, later a gym and personal trainer.

Sometimes having to be the best at sport when you aren't naturally competitive can put you off for life and maybe that's something that naturally competitive people might struggle to understand.

lostinrates

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

No, that IS the whole point of rock climbing! Not just anyone's view on here, it just is!

Why bother getting all the gear on to go up two metres each and every time.

Let's take rock climbing and give another analogy.


The majority of uk horse riders ride at a competitive novice or just above stage. Should they all give up? Most just pootle about a lot of the time together. Many manage a social element whether they pursue it as a sport or not, some never get on a horse, just like being near them.

Take a non sport....gardening.

Some might say that if you cannot produce a garden worthy of appearing on a tv show, a magazine or entering a competition or at least appearing very pretty there is no point cutting the lawn, or having one, Others enjoy wild flower meadows or japenese style gardens.

Track events use the same facilities for different points...running fastest over a different lengths, and different people do them best.

If someone is enjoying what they are doing, being active, not disproportionately impeding other users of a facility then what does it matter if they do things differently to the majority and their point is not the majority point?

tea_lover

Based on what the OP has said, it would be more like getting on the horse but never riding it anywhere. Or leaving the horse in a strop if someone else suggests they might like to actually do something once they're up there. Or not turning up to organised horse-riding events as the other people will want to, you know, ride the horses.

z.n

I think I am getting too old and cynical. If this were my relationship and my OH was talking to me like this I would immediately be wondering who the other woman was and how far things had gone. Or why I had failed to notice I had tied myself to a raging narcissist and how to extricate myself as soon as possible or get him back into line. In other words- there would be a big serious talk about what was going on, why the opinions of other people were at all relevant and one way or another it would be sorted out to my satisfaction. OP you are at risk of being bullied into behaving in a way that is not 'you' and that is not on.

All the debate about whether being ultra competitive is ' morally good' or not is sort of beside the point. The issue is that a relationship is on really unstable ground once criticism of this sort starts.

VestanPance

purpleshoes wrote: »

After having an injury a couple of years ago which left me inactive for the best part of 6 months, Im just happy to be doing sport again, relatively pain free.

Why should I be aiming to run the best I can? Im not a strong runner. I did a triathlon early last year, halfway between the sprint and the Olympic distance.

I was just glad that I was in the position to be able to finish it, having thought that it would be a long time before I would be able to again thanks to the injury. Achievements can be measured in so many different ways.

Its not always about doing the best you can all of the time, that's fine if you are a competitive athlete or someone who is naturally competitive.

A lot of people get achievement just from finishing. Think of people who do certain charity races after recovering from serious illness, many people will just be happy that they've recovered enough to be there, they won't care whether what they are doing is the best they can be.

Plus fun, whats fun about rocking up somewhere always having to strive to be the best at something?

You mean you did a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)? It's very unusual to find an event that breaks the novice, sprint, standard, middle or long mould Although now there are more endurance events doing double Ironman (branded long), triples etc. Sometimes one of the distances will be slightly offset due to the course location or layout.

I really don't see the point in turning up unless you train and try to perform at your best. You'd be as well just toddling along by yourself.

purpleshoes_2

VestanPance wrote: »

You mean you did a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)? It's very unusual to find an event that breaks the novice, sprint, standard, middle or long mould Although now there are more endurance events doing double Ironman (branded long), triples etc. Sometimes one of the distances will be slightly offset due to the course location or layout.

I really don't see the point in turning up unless you train and try to perform at your best. You'd be as well just toddling along by yourself.

No. As I said in my previous post, I did one that was slightly longer than a sprint triathlon but shorter than the Olympic distance, the run I did was a 5 mile run, not a 5k.

Organised by the gym I go to and the triathlon coach who works there.

I did train, we did an 8 week bootcamp leading up to the event.

You might think Id be as well toddling along by myself. I certainly don't.

Maybe I was just pleased I managed to do the distance I did having been badly injured the year before. That was my achievement, some people might struggle to understand why I was happy I completed the course and not worrying so much about the time I did, but it was good enough for me.

fivetide

tea_lover wrote: »

It's not really rock-climbing if you just hang there just above head height. Same as it's not really playing a game if you have no intention of trying to win.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with that approach of course, but I can see how it would be irritating to other people who are playing.

How does one not 'play to win' at a board game which has a large slice of luck involved?


Is the OP not buying properties in monopoly? Deliberately avoiding making accusations at Cluedo? Or being sure to answer every question with the word "fish" at Trivial Pursuit?


Unless the OP is actually trying to lose, I fail to see how much they can not be winning, especially if they are following the rules of the game?

missprice

VestanPance wrote: »

You mean you did a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)? It's very unusual to find an event that breaks the novice, sprint, standard, middle or long mould Although now there are more endurance events doing double Ironman (branded long), triples etc. Sometimes one of the distances will be slightly offset due to the course location or layout.

I really don't see the point in turning up unless you train and try to perform at your best. You'd be as well just toddling along by yourself.

But that's you!

Someone else sees it differently. I would rather turn up and finish in one piece than go all out to win/beat my best time/whatever.
Some of the point of sports clubs/games groups/whatever is the social side.
I would prefer someone to turn up, have fun, meet people and maybe run the race/ride the horse/climb a bit/ski the beginner slope/whatever. Than be forced to try and win or beat a previous score/time .
What difference does it make to you personally if I came along to a triathlon ( well done all who do that) and made it halfway, or even finished last. You won't care if I am last, won't be holding you up from that place, you won't care if I don't finish, so what is it?

purpleshoes_2

VestanPance wrote: »

You mean you did a sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)? It's very unusual to find an event that breaks the novice, sprint, standard, middle or long mould Although now there are more endurance events doing double Ironman (branded long), triples etc. Sometimes one of the distances will be slightly offset due to the course location or layout.

I really don't see the point in turning up unless you train and try to perform at your best. You'd be as well just toddling along by yourself.

I'll also say that having run a half marathon around 15 years ago with a group of young folks who lived in the homeless hostel I worked in, some of them got up the morning of the race, having done diddly squat training and completed the course in ridiculously quick times.

You can't tell only from someone's end time how seriously they've taken it.

I might complete a 10k an hour slower than someone who has done half the training as I have, there are too many factors to take into account than just the end figure that might make it look like someone has taken training for the event seriously when they've actually done nothing.

VestanPance

There's no harm in finishing last, as long as you gave it your best. I'd question the point in turning up poorly trained and just pottering around. What's the point? Why bother is that's your attitude?